Effect of Hot-Forging process on Microstructure and Microhardness of AZ31/Al2O3 Nanocomposites

Magnesium matrix nanocomposites have been recently studied as a noteworthy choice for engineeringapplications due to their low density and high specific properties such as strength, stiffness, and creep resistance.Among all different methods available for metal matrix composite production, stir casting is considered as a commonand relatively low cost method. Since the materials produced by casting process are not dense enough, they are usuallysubjected to a secondary bulk forming process, which could improve their mechanical and microstructural propertiesand also be used to manufacture the final products. In this regard, forging is noticeable due to its advantages such aslower operating stresses and less damage to the reinforcing phase. In this paper, AZ31/Al2O3 nanocomposite has beenfabricated using stir casting method. Then, open-die hot-forging process has been implemented on the specimens. Next,microstructure and microhardness of the specimens were investigated by optical microscopy and Vickersmicrohardness test, respectively. The results show that hot-forging process affects the microstructure in the both AZ31and AZ31/Al2O3 nanocomposite specimens, although the composite has more uniform microstructure. Moreover,microhardness of the forged-composite depends on the amount of plastic strain and has been increased in comparisonto non-reinforced alloy.

کلیدواژه ها:

Magnesium Matrix Nanocomposites ، Hot-Forging ، AZ31B ، Nano Al2O3 ، Microstructure ، Micro-hardness